Patrick Barclay: Forget league leaders Chelsea as Arsenal and Tottenham are competing in the real race behind them

Who still cares about the Premier League title race? I mean: it’s so last season. Seriously, apart from Chelsea supporters relishing a check on their seven-point superiority over Manchester City, do many of us bother to look at the top of the table any more? The excitement is just below.

If we assume that City will finish second — the return of Yaya Toure from his triumphant sojourn in Africa and eventual arrival at the Etihad Stadium of Ivory Coast compatriot Wilfried Bony, should help them to do that — there are five clubs in contention for the remaining two Champions League spots, with six points separating Southampton in third place from Liverpool in seventh.

It would have been six contenders if West Ham had held on for victory at the weekend but Daley Blind’s equaliser testified to the enduring resilience of Manchester United, leaving Sam Allardyce to his mischief at the expense of their tactics (is it just me, by the way, or does everyone wish the news agenda had a sense of humour?).

Liverpool, too, can be cut a little adrift if they lose tonight — and that’s only to hint at the magnitude on the stakes on the Anfield table as Tottenham attempt to build on that magnificent derby performance in which Harry Kane plucked two goals from the very top drawer, making not just one but two of finishing’s classic techniques look easy.

Brilliant though Kane was, the team ethic epitomised by Ryan Mason and Nabil Bentaleb made just as much difference; Arsene Wenger freely admitted as much when referring to the bossing of midfield. But that level of Spurs commitment will have to be sustained over the rest of the season if Mauricio Pochettino’s team are to join Arsenal in the top four — or edge their local rivals out.

So soon after the derby, a point at the home of fellow form horses Liverpool would be satisfactory; a win would intensify the season’s most significant race.